5 Gifts a Writer Actually Wants for Christmas

The holidays are approaching and you want to get the writer in your life something special this year. What does a writer want for Christmas?

Your writer friend already has enough notebooks, Moleskines, books about writing, and other common gifts that writers receive for the holidays and birthdays. Make this the year that you finally gave your writer friend a gift that he or she will never forget.

Short of handing out a book deal or selecting a new car from a Lexus dealership for your friend, here are five holiday gift options for your favorite writer.

All the coffee gift cards

There are many clichés that surround writers and their habits, but one that seems to be on target is that writers love coffee. Not only does coffee help a writer focus and get words on the blank page, but it has many health benefits.

Many writers like going to coffee shops because it’s a change of scenery and it helps with creativity, so coffee gift cards are the perfect Christmas present for your writer friend.

Ask the writer in your life what his or her favorite coffee shops are and then purchase gift cards to those places. If all else fails, a Starbucks gift card is a great option because these coffee houses are all over the globe.

A new bookcase

Instead of going to a bookstore and trying to figure out what your friend wants to read, or picking a best-seller just because it’s a best-seller, buy your friend a new bookcase. After all, working writers tend to read a lot, and that probably means their bookshelves are flooded with literature.

A new bookcase can help a writer free up space and give him or her a place to put new books.

A nice meal

Everyone can appreciate a good meal. Taking your writer friend to dinner will show appreciation and also get him or her away from the computer for a couple of hours. A nice meal away from a desk and screen might just get your friend’s creative juices flowing, which could lead to a great story idea.

Noise-canceling headphones

If you really want to help out your friend’s career and go all out this Christmas, then noise-canceling headphones are a perfect gift because it will help him or her fight off noisy distractions and get in the zone.

Writers suffer from writer’s block for many different reasons, but one of the reasons is because of distractions. Noise-canceling headphones can help to eliminate distractions so a writer can focus on his or her current project and stay in an undisturbed rhythm.

Whatever is on their Amazon wish/shopping list

You might think the perfect Christmas gift for a writer can be found at the liquor store, but it might actually be found on a writer’s Amazon wish/shopping list. The writer in your life will add things to this list throughout the year. Some of the gifts might not be typical writing gifts because not all writers crave writing Christmas presents.

If he or she doesn’t use an Amazon list, then ask your friend what he or she wants for Christmas. Writing might be your friend’s livelihood, but he or she might want a gift that’s less obvious.

When thinking about a Christmas gift for a writer, it’s common to think of presents that will make a writer’s life easier, such as notepads, pens, calendars, Scrabble, and maybe even a tote bag. But writers are people, too, and they might want a gift that doesn’t relate to writing at all. The five presents above should do the trick.